At the end of the fray!
by FadingMemoriesADV
Summary: Set at the end of the episode, At the End of the Fray. Ash is feeling down after his loss to Tyson in the Hoenn League Finals. With the help of his friend May will he be able to regain his spirits, and will they uncover something deeper? Advanceshipping.


**Hey everyone, I'm new around here to the fanfiction site and I decided to give it a shot at writing a one-shot. This was inspired from the episode 'At The End of the Fray', which is the final episode of the Hoenn League Finals that Ash eventually loses to Tyson in. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, I wish I did, but sadly I don't.  
**

* * *

The glorious flame of Moltres blazed on brilliantly. A sea of fans and contestants were applauding for the victor of this year's Hoenn League Champion, Tyson, from Mauville City. The red haired trainer, clad in a matching red shirt and beige pants, as well as a dark green jacket over his shirt, held the pokemon league trophy, a beautiful golden trophy with a winged pokeball at the top in his left hand, and waving his pumped fist to the cheering crowd with his right hand. After the cheering died down a much smaller man with a full head and face of grey had an announcement for everyone. Everyone would be invited to a special dinner party celebrating Tyson's victory and every competitor's fantastic battles in the recent tournament.

"Ooh! This is going to be so much fun! Dinner and dancing in a beautiful banquet hall…" A certain brown-haired coordinator began to babble on while dreaming of eating delicious food and maybe even dancing with a certain trainer. However, this trainer wasn't so thrilled about the idea of a celebration. In his eyes, there was nothing worth celebrating. This was his third lost league in a row and he knew that he was closer to victory than ever. The raven-haired trainer began to become downtrodden and began to walk out the other exit that the masses of people were walking out of.

"Wait! Ash! Where are you going?" The brown haired girl began to give chase, with a worried expression apparent in her sapphire eyes.

"Back to the pokemon center, to think," Ash replied softly, continuing straight on his path without hesitating.

"But, don't you want to celebrate with us? You were great in the league and deserve to have a good time after all those great battles you had!" The girl again tried to convince Ash to stay, but he hadn't been listening to a word and just kept on walking slowly back to the pokemon center.

The brown haired girl was about to run after him until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up a little startled at the unexpected contact; her worries were calmed when she noticed it was just the eldest member of their group, his slightly opened eyes staring down into her.

"Don't worry about him; he'll be fine, now how about we go to the party anyway. Those girls can't be kept waiting for Brock forever!" His voice got higher and his eyes sparkled at all the thoughts of girls surrounding him.

"He's right sis, let's go before all the seats are taken!" Her little brother chimed in as he began running to where the banquet hall was.

"You guys are right," May sighed and took one final glance back to where Ash was, she saw Pikachu trying to comfort Ash in the horizon, before they disappeared over it. May jogged to catch up with her brother Max and her good friend Brock so they could go to the party without Ash.

* * *

May sat bored at one of the many white table clothed tables in the elegant dining hall. The hall was filled with many chandeliers and glass windows. Everything shone brightly and there was not a dark color anywhere in sight. The hall had many tables around the center wooden dance floor, which was almost empty now because the food was just being served. May sat that with her head being supported by her left hand, and using the fork in her right hand to twirl around the spaghetti that was just served to her. Brock, who was one of the remaining people on the dance floor and was surprisingly dancing with one of the Nurse Joy's from the area, sensed the distress of the coordinator and walked over to the table to sit next to her.

"Why the long face, May?" He asked as he shifted his seat slightly to face her face to face.

"It's just isn't as fun as it should be without Ash here…" Her voice trailed off as she finished her sentence. She dropped her fork onto the table and looked Brock straight into the eyes. "I wish he was here with us," she said quietly.

"I see, then you should go talk to him," Brock stated simply. "He could really use your company and support right now." Without saying a word or making a gesture, May got up and dashed out of the hall and started to run back to the center.

Brock, feeling good that he helped a member of their team, went back to find the Nurse Joy that he had been dancing with. When he finally noticed her, he had already been left for another dance partner. "Why is life so cruel?!" Brock yelled in agony and held his heart and his fell down to his knees. Suddenly, an Officer Jenny walked by, and Brock felt revitalized, and began to give chase to the officer.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the pokemon center, Ash was sobbing at his most recent loss. "So close, but so far, my pokemon worked so hard and I failed them!" Ash cried out in the darkness in his room. Pikachu had spent the whole time trying to mollify his trainer, but nothing was working. Suddenly, the electric mouse's ears perked up as they sensed someone approaching the door.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash managed to choke out, fighting off his tears. His question was soon answered when he heard someone trying to open the locked door to his room.

"Who is it?" Ash asked, still fighting back his tears from falling freely.

"It's me, Ash," May stated simply, "could you let me in so we could talk?" she asked sweetly, trying not to upset the trainer even more. Without a sound escaping from his mouth he silently walked over to the door and unlocked the lock and quickly went back to the bed he as crying in. May opened the door and was instantly shrouded in the darkness that Ash had been sitting in. She stumbled around trying to find the light to light up the room. _Ash must have been sitting alone in the dark like this for a while now, I feel terrible_, May's thoughts bringing a frown upon her face. When she finally managed to find the light and turned it on, the sight she saw had made her feel like she had been torn in half. Ash looked nothing like he normally did. His once lively auburn eyes, filled with an ambition of being the best had faded into nothing but bloodshot tear producers. His hair was wilder than it was when he normally kept it, like he had been pulling at it. His smile that kept May and his friends going had disappeared and was replaced by a huge frown on his face. May couldn't bear to see the sight of her best friend like this, she knew he deserved so much better than this. She quickly sat down next to him to try and soothe him anyway possible.

"Why are you crying Ash?" May asked the distraught trainer.

"Because I lost and I failed!" Ash yelled out, "I was so close to finally achieving my dream, but I came up short! All my pokemon gave everything they had to give and I failed them! I'm a horrible trainer and I don't deserve all my pokemon! I – " Ash's yelling was cut off by May placing one finger over Ash's lips.

"Ash, listen to yourself, you know everything you're saying is not the truth. All your pokemon gave everything they had because you did the same for them. You're not a failure and you never will be. You're a fantastic pokemon trainer and an even better friend!" May exclaimed as she noticed the old Ash was resurfacing with everyone word.

"But still, I lost again…" Ash mentioned quietly.

"So what," May asked. "You came in the top 8 of thousands of competitors that came here to battle. The only person you lost to was the one person that no one could defeat. Tyson is an incredible trainer and you gave him his closest fight in all of his battles. You were incredible out there and should only feel proud of how well you did!" May countered Ash's statement, and she saw the old fire in Ash's eyes returned. "Besides, you're still the best trainer in the word to me," May added softly as a small blush appeared on her face. Right after the words left her mouth she was surprised to feel Ash's arms wrapped around her. She returned the gesture, glad to see her friend feeling his normal self again.

"Thanks May! For everything! I feel so much better. You were right about everything you said! Me and my pokemon gave it everything we had and we were great, and next year we will win it all!" Ash exclaimed as he sprung out of the bed and into the bathroom to wash up. After coming out a few minutes later he asked May "So, are you ready to go back to the party?"

"Of course I am Ash!" May replied with enthusiasm as she ran off with Ash and Pikachu back to the party.

* * *

The whole group returned to their room at the pokemon center after the party concluded. While May didn't quite get her wish of a dance with Ash, she still had a great time at the party. The food there was delicious and it tasted even better with Ash next to her feeling like himself and pigging out on all the food that was presented to him. May was about to get ready to head to sleep when she saw a fully dressed Ash ready to go out and leave again.

"Where are you going Ash?" May asked worried that he was feeling down again.

"Just for a walking, I've been trapped inside most of the day and I could really use some fresh air." Ash replied calmly, showing May he was no longer bothered by his defeat.

"Can I come with you?" May asked sweetly. Ash's face beamed at her as he replied with "Of course you can May!" May's face lit up at this acceptance and began to walk out with Ash. Pikachu, being smarter than Ash in the field of romance, sensed what was coming next and quickly hopped off Ash's shoulder and ran quickly to Ash's bed where he pretended to fall asleep. Ash didn't seem to notice anything, but May looked back at Pikachu and mouth a thank you back to the mouse.

As May and Ash strolled through the beautiful star-filled moonlit night, they started small talk about how great the party was. Ash commented on how all the food was delicious and he was glad that it was all free. May agreed, but hinted at how she wished she had a chance to dance with someone. Ash was about to respond but was cut off as he and May had reached a huge, gorgeous lake that was lit up by the moon light.

"It's beautiful," May said in awe at the beautiful sight.

"It really is," Ash agreed as he motioned for May to come join him on a pair of rocks to the left of the lake, offering a great view. When they both got comfortable Ash began to speak, "I still can't thank you enough for all your support you've given me today. I felt so bad for losing but you snapped me right out of it," Ash smiled warmly as he shifted his view from the beautiful lake to the only thing he thought was more beautiful , his friend May.

"Ash there's no reason to thank me. It was the least I could do after all the times you've encouraged me to keep going after my losses," May responded with a big smile to match Ash's.

"But, why did you come back for me?" Ash asked curiously.

"Well…Uh…you see…" May began to stumble around with her words. She finally managed to get it out, "Well, it was boring without my best friend there, and I wanted you to have as much fun as we could," her blush ever growing on her face. "Besides Ash," she continued, trying to find the courage in her herself to let it all out, "I… I love you! Just everything about you is perfect to me and I've had feelings for you for a while." Ash fell silent for a few moments and May began to look down at her feet, thinking she may have just ruined her friendship with her best friend.

"I'm sorry Ash, I shouldn't hav- " May was cut off by Ash putting one finger on her lips, much like she had done to him before.

"That makes two of us May. I've always felt something for you, I just never knew what it was. I just realized what I felt when you told me. You are my inspiration and the brightness in my day. I love you too, May." Both Ash and May sprung off the rocks they were sitting on and embraced each other tightly, not wanting to let go. Slowly, Ash and May moved their lips together to share their first kiss. While it was only for a few seconds, it felt like forever to them and they broke their lips apart, but still embraced each other.

"Well, now that our Hoenn adventure is done, where are you going to go now?" May asked Ash.

"I don't know yet May, but wherever it is, we will go together!" Ash exclaimed as they shared a second brief kiss before heading back to the pokemon center to start their new journey, as one.

* * *

**So, did you like it? It's just something I threw together over the past few days, so it's probably bad. Any type of review is much appreciated. Thank you all for reading!**


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